Gentle Wii Fit exercise works for nursing home’s residents

Thursday

Jul 31, 2008 at 12:01 AMJul 31, 2008 at 7:43 PM

They gather around the television set for their weekly exercise at Provena St. Joseph’s nursing home. It’s where a group of residents get flexibility, balance and some strength training — along with a bit of bowling and boxing — since physical therapist Heather Flynn started bringing her Wii Fit game system to work six weeks ago.

Mike DeDoncker

They gather around the television set for their weekly exercise at Provena St. Joseph’s nursing home.

It’s where a group of residents get flexibility, balance and some strength training — along with a bit of bowling and boxing — since physical therapist Heather Flynn started bringing her Wii Fit game system to work six weeks ago.

Marcia Dubach, occupational therapist at the Freeport, Ill., home, said the system works well in a group setting for users with limited mobility “because they can do it all together while one person works the equipment.

“It’s not too complicated and it’s not to video-gamish. With this generation, video games aren’t their forte, but it’s pretty straightforward. She (the Wii voice) talks very simply and slowly, and the cueing is very easy to understand. They put the words up on the screen so everyone can read them, but she also speaks them very clearly. We turn the volume way up so everyone can hear and most don’t have a hard time following the directions at all.”

Dubach said the home uses the system to give the residents a yoga workout along with flexibility and balance exercises. Some can perform the exercises while standing, but others sit depending on their level of function.

She said a dot on the television screen helps the resident using the equipment to check their balance and the others can watch to see what they need to do to be on balance when it’s their turn.

“It gives them a good visual cue, which is really helpful,” Dubach said, “and I think they surprised themselves with what they could and, sometimes, it’s, ‘Oh, I didn’t realize I couldn’t do that,’ and it kind of opens their eyes.”

Dubach said the Wii Fit exercises are similar to those she and Flynn did one-on-one with the residents, but this really helps to structure it and lets us do it in a group setting.

“We would do similar stretches, but this really takes us through a nice routine and they’re used to the pattern now, so they kind of have a little routine and they don’t need a lot of cueing any more. They just follow along.”

Sister Mary Gabriel Parcells, a longtime worker at St. Joseph’s before she retired and became a resident, scored one of the first knockouts when the residents tried Wii Boxing.

She said exercising is more interesting with the Wii Fit but added, “I know my posture isn’t very good.”

Dubach said the workouts help the residents with their flexibility, balance and endurance “so that they’re safe when they’re walking or when they’re transferring into or out of a bed or getting into a chair.”

Lori Hopkins, case manager at the nursing home, said the residents’ reaction to the system has been so good that the money to buy two systems has been added to next year’s budget.

Staff writer Mike DeDoncker can be reached at 815-987-1382 or mdedoncker@rrstar.com.

About Wii Fit

What: An interactive video game that allows the user to choose workouts in yoga, strength training, balance or aerobics.

How: Wii Fit uses a balance board about the size of a bathroom scale to read the user’s movements and a hand-held controller about the size of a TV remote control with acceleration sensors that interact with an infrared camera built into the Wii console.

Features: The system allows the user to chart daily progress, check their Body Mass Index, set goals, chart activities and even enter exercise time not performed on the system. A first-time user will be asked to set a goal and choose a time frame for achieving it. The system will then provide feedback, give updates and offer encouragement toward meeting the goal.

The system also provides an on-screen trainer to lead the user through exercises and demonstrate proper form.

Cost: The Wii Fit costs $80 to $90. It requires a Wii console, which costs $250 to $300.

Lori Hopkins’ Wii e-mail

“I am the case manager at Provena St. Joseph’s in Freeport. One of our physical therapists has been bringing her Wii to work the last few weeks and setting it up for our residents as part of their therapy routine. They love it! They have done the bowling, boxing (what a hoot) and then, last week, they did the yoga.

“They have loved it so much that our administrator has put two of them in our budget for next year.

“We have a retired nun here and to see her up boxing made our day. She actually got a knockout. Woohoo!”

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